Autonomous vehicle and system for autonomous vehicle

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an autonomous vehicle and a system for the autonomous vehicle. The system may include a master computing unit configured to control operations of the autonomous vehicle; a slave computing unit communicatively coupled to the master computing unit and configured to control the operations of the autonomous vehicle in response to detecting a failure of the master computing unit; at least one lidar configured to acquire environmental information around the autonomous vehicle; and a switch communicatively coupled to the at least one lidar, the master computing unit and the slave computing unit, and configured to provide the environmental information to the master computing unit and the slave computing unit for controlling the autonomous vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priorities to Chinese Applications No.201910754014.5 and No. 201921323905.7, filed on Aug. 15, 2019 andentitled “Autonomous Vehicle and System for Autonomous Vehicle,” theentire disclosures of each of is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of autonomousdriving, and more specifically to an autonomous vehicle and a system forthe autonomous vehicle.

BACKGROUND

In an autonomous vehicle, safety is a very important research topic. Incase that a component of an automatic control system fails, if thedriving security of the autonomous vehicle cannot be ensured, then avery serious accident will easily be caused, thereby affecting thesecurity and practicability of the autonomous vehicle. Therefore, it isnecessary to provide a safer autonomous control scheme.

SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an autonomousvehicle and a system for the autonomous vehicle are provided.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides asystem for the autonomous vehicle. The system includes: a mastercomputing unit configured to control operations of the autonomousvehicle; a slave computing unit communicatively coupled to the mastercomputing unit and configured to control the operations of theautonomous vehicle in response to detecting a failure of the mastercomputing unit; at least one lidar configured to acquire environmentalinformation around the autonomous vehicle; and a switch communicativelycoupled to the at least one lidar, the master computing unit, and theslave computing unit, and configured to provide the environmentalinformation to the master computing unit and the slave computing unitfor controlling the autonomous vehicle.

In some embodiments, the at least one lidar includes a plurality oflidars provided at different positions of the autonomous vehicle.

In some embodiments, the system further includes: at least onepositioning device communicatively coupled to the switch, and configuredto acquire positioning information of the autonomous vehicle and sendthe positioning information to the switch, where the switch is furtherconfigured to send the positioning information to the master computingunit and the slave computing unit.

In some embodiments, the at least one positioning device includes aplurality of independently operating positioning devices.

In some embodiments, the system further includes: at least one cameracommunicatively coupled to the master computing unit, and configured toacquire an optical image around the autonomous vehicle and send theoptical image to the master computing unit.

In some embodiments, the system further includes: avehicle-to-everything (V2X) device communicatively coupled to theswitch, such that the autonomous vehicle communicates with an externaldevice.

In some embodiments, the system further includes: at least onemillimeter wave radar communicatively coupled to the master computingunit and the slave computing unit, and configured to acquire a microwaveimage around the autonomous vehicle and send the microwave image to themaster computing unit and the slave computing unit.

In some embodiments, the at least one millimeter wave radar includes aplurality of millimeter wave radars provided at different positions ofthe autonomous vehicle.

In some embodiments, the system further includes: a security gatewaycommunicatively coupled to the switch and configured to perform safecommunication with the external device.

In some embodiments, the system further includes: a black boxcommunicatively coupled to the security gateway and configured toacquire driving-related information of the autonomous vehicle via thesecurity gateway.

In some embodiments, the master computing unit is further configured to:generate a control signal for a vehicle chassis control system of theautonomous vehicle at least partially based on the environmentalinformation.

In some embodiments, the slave computing unit is further configured to:generate, in response to detecting a failure of the master computingunit, the control signal for the vehicle chassis control system of theautonomous vehicle at least partially based on the environmentalinformation.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides anautonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle includes the system accordingto the first aspect.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the autonomousvehicle can enter the limp mode when any one of the master computingunit or the slave computing unit fails, to ensure the safety of theautonomous vehicle. In this way, at least autonomous driving at L4 levelcan be achieved.

It should be appreciated that the description of the Summary is notintended to limit the key or important features of embodiments of thepresent disclosure, or to limit the scope of the present disclosure.Other features of the present disclosure will become readilycomprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of variousembodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent withreference to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions below.The same or similar reference numerals in the drawings denote the sameor similar elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous vehicle according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the autonomous vehicle according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a power supply unit according to someembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a device that may beconfigured to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of variousembodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent withreference to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions below.The same or similar reference numerals in the drawings denote the sameor similar elements.

Now, the concept of the present disclosure will be explained withreference to various example embodiments shown in the accompanyingdrawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are describedmerely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand andfurther implement the present disclosure, and are not intended to imposeany limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should benoted that like or identical reference numerals may be used in theaccompanying drawings where feasible, and like or identical referencenumerals may represent like or identical elements. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that from the following description, alternativeembodiments of the structures and/or methods described herein may beadopted without departing from the described principles and concepts ofthe present disclosure.

In the description of embodiments of the present disclosure, the term“include” and the like should be interpreted as open inclusion, i.e.,“include but not limited to”. The term “based on” should be interpretedas “at least partially based on”. The term “one embodiment” should beinterpreted as “at least one embodiment”. The term “the otherembodiment” should be interpreted as “at least one other embodiment”.Other terms that may appear but are not mentioned herein shall not beinterpreted or defined in a manner contrary to the concept on whichembodiments of the present disclosure are based unless explicitlystated.

When describing corresponding embodiments or examples in conjunctionwith the drawings, the involved direction-related terms are intended tofacilitate understanding the description of embodiments of the presentdisclosure, such as “upper (part),” “lower (part),” “vertical,”“horizontal,” “longitudinal,” “top (part),” and “bottom (part),” whichare either based on a direction presented when a reader is viewing aview, or based on a normal use direction of the product, and should notimpose an undesirable limitation on the scope of protection of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an autonomous vehicle 100 accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure. The autonomous vehicle100 may be an L4 autonomous vehicle, which has a fully autonomousdriving function in a scenario or a working condition to which vehicledesign is adapted. As shown in FIG. 1, the autonomous vehicle 100includes a vehicle chassis control system 108 configured to control achassis of the autonomous vehicle 100 to drive the vehicle to run.

A master computing unit 102 may determine a control instruction orcontrol signal for the vehicle chassis control system 108 based oninformation acquired from various sensors or other devices, e.g.,information such as vehicle speed, acceleration, deceleration, anddriving direction. The master computing unit 102 is communicativelycoupled to the vehicle chassis control system 108, and can provide acorresponding control instruction or control signal to the vehiclechassis control system 108, to control operations of the autonomousvehicle 100, such as driving. For example, the master computing unit 102may be coupled to the vehicle chassis control system 108 through acontroller area network (CAN) bus.

A slave computing unit 104 may also determine the control instruction orcontrol signal for the vehicle chassis control system 108 based oninformation acquired from various sensors or other devices, e.g.,information such as vehicle speed, acceleration, deceleration, anddriving direction. The slave computing unit 104 is communicativelycoupled to the vehicle chassis control system 108, and can provide thecorresponding control instruction or control signal to the vehiclechassis control system 108, to control operations of the autonomousvehicle 100, such as driving. For example, the slave computing unit 104may be coupled to the vehicle chassis control system 108 through the CANbus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the master computing unit 102 may be communicativelycoupled to the slave computing unit 104, for example, through the CANbus. The slave computing unit 104 may be a computing unit for providingredundant security. The master computing unit 102 and the slavecomputing unit 104 can monitor the working status of each other, andparticularly detect whether the other party fails, to prevent dangers tothe autonomous driving. For example, the master computing unit 102 andthe slave computing unit 104 can detect whether the other party failsbased on a heartbeat message.

For example, the master computing unit 102 may have more complex andcomplete functions than the slave computing unit 104 has, for use innormal driving. The slave computing unit 104 may have high reliabilitydue to its function of providing a redundant security, but has lowcomplexity and relatively simple functions.

In some embodiments, when the master computing unit 102 detects afailure of the slave computing unit 104, for example, based on aheartbeat message from the slave computing unit 104, the mastercomputing unit 102 can send an instruction to the vehicle chassiscontrol system 108, such that the autonomous vehicle 100 enters a limpmode. In the limp mode, the vehicle chassis control system 108 canperform simple control over the chassis, such that the vehicle can besafely parked in a safe area. When the slave computing unit 104 detectsa failure of the master computing unit 102, for example, based on aheartbeat message from the master computing unit 102, the slavecomputing unit 104 can send an instruction to the vehicle chassiscontrol system 108, such that the autonomous vehicle 100 enters the limpmode. In the limp mode, the vehicle chassis control system 108 canperform simple control over the chassis, such that the vehicle can besafely parked in a safe area.

For example, the autonomous vehicle 100 may further include a camera 110configured to acquire an optical image around the autonomous vehicle100. For example, a plurality of cameras 100 may be provided at variouspositions in the front, the rear, and the like of the autonomous vehicle100. The camera 100 is coupled to the master computing unit 102 througha communication cable, and provides the acquired optical image to themaster computing unit 102, to guide the driving of the autonomousvehicle 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the autonomous vehicle 100 further includes a switch106 communicatively coupled to the master computing unit 102 and theslave computing unit 104. The switch 106 serves as a communication hubfor the autonomous vehicle 100, and coordinates and transfers servicesfor communication between the master computing unit 102 and the slavecomputing unit 104 of the autonomous vehicle 100 and other devices suchas sensors.

The autonomous vehicle 100 may further include positioning devices 112and 114 configured to acquire positioning information of the autonomousvehicle 100, to provide services, such as navigation. The positioningdevices 112 and 114 can operate independently, and can be implemented bydifferent types of positioning modules. For example, the positioningdevice 112 may have better performance than the positioning device 114has, to be used in a normal state, while the positioning device 114provides services only when the positioning device 112 fails. In someembodiments, the master computing unit 102 and/or the slave computingunit 104 can monitor the status of the positioning devices 112 and 114through the switch 106, to determine which positioning device is toprovide the positioning service. While FIG. 1 shows two positioningdevices, those skilled in the art should understand that more or fewerpositioning devices may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the autonomous vehicle 100 may further includelidars 116 and 118 configured to acquire environmental informationaround the autonomous vehicle 100. The lidars 116 and 118 may beprovided at different positions of the autonomous vehicle 100, to coverdifferent fields of view. The lidars 116 and 118 are communicativelycoupled to the switch 106, and send environmental information to themaster processing unit 102 and/or the slave processing unit 104. Themaster processing unit 102 and/or the slave processing unit 104 may makedecisions based on the environmental information. It should beunderstood that while FIG. 1 shows two lidars, the autonomous vehicle100 may include more or fewer lidars. The present disclosure is notlimited in this regard.

In addition, the autonomous vehicle 100 may further include a V2X device120, for communicating with other devices. These devices may be anysuitable device supporting V2X communication, such as traffic lights.V2X communication is a communication in which a vehicle sendsinformation to and receives information from any other entity that mayaffect the vehicle. The communication system of the vehicle can providefunctions of road safety, traffic efficiency, and energy saving. The V2Xdevice 120 is coupled to the switch 106, such that the master processingunit 102 and/or the slave processing unit 104 can communicate with anexternal device, thereby providing safer and more efficient autonomousdriving control.

In some embodiments, the autonomous vehicle 100 may further include asecurity gateway 122, to provide safe communication. For example, thesecurity gateway 122 may support a proprietary protocol or avendor-specific protocol, to provide more security. The security gateway122 may be connected to an antenna (not shown) to communicate with theexternal device, for example, to receive an update software package ofautonomous driving software running on the master processing unit 102and/or the slave processing unit 104, such as wireless upgrade (OTA).

The autonomous vehicle 100 may further include a black box 124 that iscommunicatively coupled to the security gateway 122, for acquiringdriving-related information. The driving-related information may includedriving instructions generated by the master computing unit 102 and theslave computing unit 104, failure information of each device, and thelike. In this way, when an accident such as a car accident occurs, therelevant cause of the accident can be acquired through the black box124, to better improve the system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the autonomous vehicle 100 may further includemillimeter wave radars 126 and 128 configured to acquire a microwaveimage around the autonomous vehicle 100. The millimeter wave radar canacquire obstacle information at a long distance, e.g., 60 m-100 m, torespond to a high-speed scenario or provide judgment. The millimeterwave radars 126 and 128 may be provided at different positions of theautonomous vehicle 100, to cover different directions and positions. Themillimeter wave radars 126 and 128 are communicatively coupled to themaster computing unit 102 and the slave computing unit 104, to send themicrowave image to the master computing unit 102 and the slave computingunit 104. For example, the millimeter wave radars 126 and 128 may becoupled to the two computing units through the CAN bus. It should beunderstood that while FIG. 1 shows two millimeter wave radars, theautonomous vehicle 100 may include more or fewer millimeter wave radars.The present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

Since the master computing unit 102 and the slave computing unit 104 areprovided, the autonomous vehicle 100 can enter the limp mode when anyone of the master computing unit 102 or the slave computing unit 104fails, to ensure the safety of the autonomous vehicle 100. For example,when the master computing unit 102 fails, the autonomous vehicle 100enters the limp mode. The slave computing unit 104 may provide a controlinstruction based on the microwave image provided by the millimeter waveradars 126 and 128, to tow the autonomous vehicle 100 to a safe area.When the slave computing unit 104 fails, the autonomous vehicle 100 canalso enter the limp mode. In this way, at least L4 autonomous drivingcan be achieved.

For example, when the switch 106 fails, the master computing unit 102can determine that the switch 106 fails due to the failure to receivedata from the switch 106, and therefore can also enter the limp mode. Inthe limp mode, the camera 110 and the millimeter wave radars 126 and 128can still provide corresponding sensing information to the mastercomputing unit 102. Based on such information, the master computing unit102 can perform simple control over the autonomous vehicle 100, e.g., totow the autonomous vehicle to a safe area.

When one or more sensors fail, other sensors can provide correspondingsensing information. The master computing unit 102 can determine whetherto enter the limp mode based on the sensor failure situation. In theautonomous vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1, even when any one device in theautonomous driving control system fails, the autonomous vehicle 100 willnot have a safety problem. In this way, the L4 autonomous drivingsecurity can be ensured.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the autonomous vehicle 100 accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure. Compared with FIG. 1,FIG. 2 further shows a power supply system of the autonomous vehicle100.

As shown in FIG. 2, a power supply unit 130 includes a first poweroutput 140 and a second power output 142. The first power output 140 iscoupled to the master computing unit 102, and supplies power to themaster computing unit 102. The second power output 142 is coupled to theslave computing unit 104, and supplies power to the slave computing unit104. In addition, the second power output 142 is also coupled to themaster computing unit 102, to provide a startup detection function.Specifically, when detecting the second power output 142, the mastercomputing unit 102 can send a control signal to the vehicle chassiscontrol system 108, to start controlling the vehicle chassis controlsystem 108. In some embodiments, the first power output 140 may be aconstant power, and the second power output 142 may be a key power or astart power.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second power output 142 may further be coupledto the switch 106, the security gateway 122, and the black box 124, tosupply power to these components.

The master computing unit 102 may further process the first power output140, to obtain a vehicle-level power output, i.e., a third power output144. For example, the third power output 144 may be a level above anautomotive safety integrity level ASIL-B. The third power output 144 cansupply power to the camera 110, the positioning devices 112 and 114, thelidars 116 and 118, the V2X device 120, the millimeter wave radars 126and 128, and the like.

For example, the master computing unit 102 may include a powermanagement module configured to convert the first power output 140 tothe third power output 144. In addition, the first power output 140further includes a fourth power output (not shown) in the mastercomputing unit 102, which can supply power to main processing modules orcomponents (for example, processors, memories, graphics processors, andneural network processors) in the master computing unit 102. In thisway, when the fourth power output of the master computing unit 102fails, the third power output 144 can still work normally.Alternatively, the power management module can also be provided by astandalone device, instead of the master computing unit 102.

As described above, when detecting a failure of the master computingunit 102, the slave computing unit 104 can automatically take charge ofthe control over the autonomous vehicle 100. The failure of the mastercomputing unit 102 may include a failure of the fourth power supplyoutput, which causes failure to implement main functions of the mastercomputing unit 102.

If the fourth power output fails, or if the first power output 140 failsin the case of a standalone power management module, then the slavecomputing unit 104 can receive sensing information, etc. of variousdevices (e.g., positioning devices, and lidars) from the switch 106, andreceive the microwave image from the millimeter wave radars 126 and 128,to perform simple control over the autonomous vehicle 100.

If the second power output 142 fails, the master computing unit 102 canreceive the optical image around the autonomous vehicle from the camera110, to perform simple control over the autonomous vehicle 100.

If the third power output 144 fails, the master computing unit 102 canacquire sensing information from the millimeter wave radars 126 and 128,and perform simple control over the autonomous vehicle 100 based on suchsensing information.

In the autonomous vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 2, the power sourcedistribution improves the safety of the autonomous vehicle 100, toprevent the power distribution system failure from causinguncontrollable impacts on the autonomous vehicle 100.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a power supply unit 130 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood thatthe power supply unit 130 is merely an example, and those skilled in theart may also use any other suitable power source.

The power supply unit 130 includes a DC-DC converter 132 and a battery134, such as a storage battery, connected in parallel. The DC-DCconverter 132 can convert a power source of the autonomous vehicle 100into a first power output. For example, the power source may be providedby another storage battery. In this way, a redundant power system may beprovided to prevent power failure. For example, if an external powerfails and thus the DC-DC converter 132 fails to operate, a backupbattery 134 can still supply power. In addition, in some examples, adetection circuit may be provided in the power supply unit 130, toprovide a failure of the external power source or the DC-DC converter132 to the master computing unit 102. When receiving the failure signal,the master computing unit 102 can control the autonomous vehicle 100 toenter a limp mode, to reduce the driving speed, and enter a safe areafor parking.

In addition, a fuse 136 is further provided between the DC-DC converter132 and the first power output and between the battery 134 and the firstpower output, to provide functions such as overload protection.

As shown in FIG. 3, the power supply unit 130 may further include anon-off switch 138 coupled between the first power output 140 and thesecond power output 142. Specifically, the on-off switch 138 is coupledbetween a node between the fuse 136 and the first power output 140 andthe second power output 142. The on-off switch 138 can be controlled bya start key or a button of the autonomous vehicle 100, and turning onthe on-off switch 138 can trigger startup of the autonomous vehicle 100.

Examples of the power supply unit 130 are introduced above withreference to FIG. 3. However, it should be understood that any othersuitable power supply unit 130 may also be provided.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a device 400 that may beconfigured to implement embodiments of the present disclosure. Themaster computing unit 102 and/or the slave computing unit 104 shown inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2 may be implemented by the device 400. As shown in FIG.4, the device 400 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 401, whichmay execute various appropriate actions and processes in accordance withcomputer program instructions stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 402 orcomputer program indications loaded into a random access memory (RAM)403 from a storage unit 408. The RAM 403 may further store variousprograms and data required by operations of the device 400. The CPU 401,the ROM 402, and the RAM 403 are connected to each other through a bus404. An input/output (I/O) interface 405 is also connected to the bus404.

A plurality of components in the device 400 is connected to the I/Ointerface 405, including: an input unit 406, such as a keyboard, and amouse; an output unit 407, such as various types of displays andspeakers; the storage unit 408, such as a magnetic disk, and an opticaldisk; and a communication unit 409, such as a network card, a modem, anda wireless communication transceiver. The communication unit 409 allowsthe device 400 to exchange information/data with other devices via acomputer network, e.g., the Internet, and/or various telecommunicationnetworks.

While some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have beenshown in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art shouldunderstand that the above examples are intended to be illustrative only,and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Thoseskilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments may bemodified without departing from the scope and essence of the presentdisclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is limited by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for an autonomous vehicle, comprising: amaster computing unit configured to control operations of the autonomousvehicle; a slave computing unit communicatively coupled to the mastercomputing unit and configured to control the operations of theautonomous vehicle in response to detecting a failure of the mastercomputing unit; at least one lidar configured to acquire environmentalinformation around the autonomous vehicle; and a switch communicativelycoupled to the at least one lidar, the master computing unit, and theslave computing unit, and configured to provide the environmentalinformation to the master computing unit and the slave computing unitfor controlling the autonomous vehicle.
 2. The system according to claim1, wherein the at least one lidar comprises a plurality of lidarsprovided at different positions of the autonomous vehicle.
 3. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises: at least onepositioning device communicatively coupled to the switch, and configuredto acquire positioning information of the autonomous vehicle and sendthe positioning information to the switch, wherein the switch is furtherconfigured to send the positioning information to the master computingunit and the slave computing unit.
 4. The system according to claim 3,wherein the at least one positioning device comprises a plurality ofindependently operating positioning devices.
 5. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the system further comprises: at least one cameracommunicatively coupled to the master computing unit, and configured toacquire an optical image around the autonomous vehicle and send theoptical image to the master computing unit.
 6. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the system further comprises: a vehicle-to-everything(V2X) device communicatively coupled to the switch, such that theautonomous vehicle communicates with an external device.
 7. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises: at least onemillimeter wave radar communicatively coupled to the master computingunit and the slave computing unit, and configured to acquire a microwaveimage around the autonomous vehicle and send the microwave image to themaster computing unit and the slave computing unit.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 7, wherein the at least one millimeter wave radarcomprises a plurality of millimeter wave radars provided at differentpositions of the autonomous vehicle.
 9. The system according to claim 1,wherein the system further comprises: a security gateway communicativelycoupled to the switch and configured to perform safe communication withthe external device.
 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein thesystem further comprises: a black box communicatively coupled to thesecurity gateway and configured to acquire driving-related informationof the autonomous vehicle via the security gateway.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the master computing unit is furtherconfigured to: generate a control signal for a vehicle chassis controlsystem of the autonomous vehicle at least partially based on theenvironmental information.
 12. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe slave computing unit is further configured to: generate, in responseto detecting a failure of the master computing unit, the control signalfor the vehicle chassis control system of the autonomous vehicle atleast partially based on the environmental information.
 13. Anautonomous vehicle, comprising a system, the system comprising: a mastercomputing unit configured to control operations of the autonomousvehicle; a slave computing unit communicatively coupled to the mastercomputing unit and configured to control the operations of theautonomous vehicle in response to detecting a failure of the mastercomputing unit; at least one lidar configured to acquire environmentalinformation around the autonomous vehicle; and a switch communicativelycoupled to the at least one lidar, the master computing unit, and theslave computing unit, and configured to provide the environmentalinformation to the master computing unit and the slave computing unitfor controlling the autonomous vehicle.